August Eichhorn (cellist)

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August Theodor Eichhorn (born July 30, 1899 in Mainz , † June 16, 1980 in Bensheim ) was a German musician and professor of violoncello .

Life

From 1933 until his conscription to the military in 1942, Eichhorn was solo cellist at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and taught at the State University of Music . After the Second World War he taught at the Heidelberg-Mannheim University of Music and continued as a guest in Leipzig until 1961. His students include Reinhold Johannes Buhl , Siegfried Pank , Josef Schwab and Gerhard Mantel .

August Eichhorn had a great influence on string pedagogy. He was one of the first whose teaching methods were based on scientific principles, the physiological possibilities of the human body and the physical conditions of the cello, as well as the findings of Steinhausen and Trendelenburg . For example, he coined the term “trinity of sound”: it depends on the point of contact, pressure and speed of the bow. He can be described as the founder of a new German cello school.

Eichhorn was one of Emanuel Feuermann's first students in Cologne. With the help of the knowledge from an additional study of anatomy and physics in Heidelberg, Eichhorn analyzed Feuermann's game and developed, among other things, a theory for an artistically highly efficient biomechanical lever system in bow guidance , as he believed he had seen Feuermann. This lever system can be characterized in that the bow-guiding arm is set in mass balancing vibrations (oscillations). You can visualize this as a chain of connected rockers, so that the inertia to be overcome in the arch guidance is reduced to a minimum. In such a mobile-like system of coupled oscillators, small muscular impulses can keep relatively large reactionary movements going. Eichhorn subsequently tried to systematically advance his students artistically by conveying his theories. The relevance of using Eichhorn's movement model for the development of artistic expertise has been proven to some extent in studies using three-dimensional computer-aided movement analysis (cf. Hasselbach & Gruhn & Gollhofer 2010, 2011). However, a more recent study showed that an investigation of professional violinists from several German orchestras did not reveal any significant correlations between the extent of mass balancing oscillations (MBOs) and the position achieved in the orchestra or the orchestra's reputation. However, highly significant correlations could be shown between the extent of MBOs and the presence or extent of suffering from a game-related disease. (cf. Hasselbach & Gruhn & Gollhofer 2019) Conclusion: Eichhorn's movement model in the sense of a biomechanical topology (cf. Bongaardt 2001, Bernstein 1996, Schack 2010) seems to be only one possible route for many to artistic expertise, but one of the healthiest long-term paths under professional stress for violinists. Other variables such as personality or marketing strategies seem to have a greater influence on concrete professional success than the movement model learned. However, the use of mass balancing oscillations is found much more frequently in professional orchestra violinists than in children, adolescents and, for example, music teachers who play the violin. In this respect, the use of MBOs continues to be seen as a hallmark of high expertise, albeit not as a sine qua non . A study by Bangert et al. (2017) on drumming in the high-tempo range was also able to demonstrate the use of oscillations in phase opposition around a pivot point in the hand as an optimized movement strategy. This strategy was used significantly more often by professional drummers than by amateurs. A significant correlation between the lower fluctuation range of the timing and the volume in professional drummers could also be due to the use of oscillations in phase opposition, which seems plausible from a biomechanical point of view. (see Bangert & Junk & Benckert & Jabusch 2017)

Fonts

  • Margarete Hopfer: The sound design on string instruments. The natural law of tone response. Brief introduction to the creative dynamics of bow mechanics by August Eichhorn. Kistner & Siegel, Leipzig 1941.

literature

  • Bangert, M. & Junk, F. & Benckert, J. & Jabusch, H.-C. (2017): Optimized movement strategies when playing the drums at high speeds, organ of the German Society for Music Physiology and Musicians' Medicine , vol. 24 (3), Mainz (DGfMM), pp. 145–158.
  • Bernstein, N. (1996): The Development of Movement Skills. Translation of Chapter VIII from NA Bernstein: O postrojenii dviženij (On the structure of movements). Medgiz, Moscow 1947 (editing: G. Schnabel, H. Sandner; translation: C. Bauer 1996 / J. Schlief 1958.) IAT / dvs, Leipzig 1996/1958.
  • Bongaardt, R. (2001): How Bernstein conquered movement. Revisiting the work of Nikolai Aleksandrovitsch Bernstein, in: Classics in Movement Science , ed. v. Mark L. Latash & Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky, USA (Human Kinetics), pp. 59-84.
  • Clemen, J .: An orchestra of forty cellos. Symposium on the 100th birthday of August Eichhorn. In: Neue Musikzeitung. H. 12 / 1999–1 / 2000, p. 30. ( online at archive.org ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ))
  • Hasselbach, J. v. (2009): 100 years of Physiologic Turn in string instrument education. An inventory , in: Interdisciplinarity as a Challenge of Music Education Research , ed. by N. Schläbitz, Essen (The Blue Owl), SS 239–262.
  • Hasselbach, J. v. & Gruhn, W. & Gollhofer, A. (2010): Mass balancing oscillations: An indication of expertise in the bowing of violinists , in: SM Demorest, SJ Morrison & PS Campbell (Eds.), Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC11) , pp. 388-393, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, September 23-27 [CD-ROM].
  • Hasselbach, J. v. & Gruhn, W. & Gollhofer, A. (2011): Effects of training on mass balancing oscillations in the bowing of (pre) teen violin students. A quantitative micromotion study , Arts BioMechanics , vol. 1 (1), New York (Nova Science Publishers), pp. 1-14.
  • Hasselbach, J. v. (2012): For 'lively' and 'intensely related' tones in bowed string instrumental performance. A response to Peter Röbke's introduction to Music and Feelings , Arts BioMechanics , vol. 1 (2), New York (Nova Science Publishers), pp. 115-130.
  • Hasselbach, J. v. & Gruhn, W. & Gollhofer, A. (2019): Mass balancing oscillations in the bowing of adult professional orchestra violinists: prevalence, tempo-related profiles and their relation to occupational health, Arts BioMechanics , vol. 2 (2), New York (Nova Science Publishers), pp. 177-191.
  • Hasselbach, J. v. (2019a). Stressing “unstressed”: Relaxed emphasis and lightness in the flow of movement - understanding meter via physical assistance and supported metrical sound experience in bowed string instrumental performance, Arts BioMechanics , vol. 2 (2), New York (Nova Science Publishers), pp. 193-209.
  • Hasselbach, J. v. (2019b): “Mass balancing oscillations in the bowing of professional violinists. A biomechanical feature with high potential for reducing the risk of play-related diseases ”, in: Volume for the AMPF Annual Conference 2018, ed. by Verena Weidner & Christian Rolle, Münster (Waxmann) 2019, pp. 155–170.
  • Schack, T. (2010): The cognitive architecture of human movements, Sportforum Vol. 21, Aachen (Meyer & Meyer).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mainz birth register, 1899, Volume 3, Entry No. 1577
  2. ^ Bensheim death register, 1980, entry no. 195
personal data
SURNAME Eichhorn, August
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eichhorn, August Theodor (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German musician (cellist)
DATE OF BIRTH July 30, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Mainz
DATE OF DEATH June 16, 1980
Place of death Bensheim